THE education minister’s assurance that outstanding allowances of retired non-government teachers and employees under the monthly pay order will be cleared in two years does not resolve the issue although it sounds somewhat reassuring. Thousands of teachers and employees who retired as far back as 2022 still wait for their lawful dues, with many having spent their final years in financial distress. The plight is distressing because these are individuals who devoted their life to educating the largest number of students. The problem is not new. A February 2024 court order directed the government to ensure the payment of retirement benefits in six months after retirement, but the government has not complied. The backlog has, meanwhile, continued to grow, with about 85,000 applications pending with the Non-Government Teachers and Employees’ Welfare Trust and the Retirement Benefits Board. Many are forced to wait for five to six years to receive their benefits while around 1,000 new applications are filed every month. Such long delays are unacceptable and amount to an injustice. Even more tragic is the fact that many retired teachers have died before receiving the dues while many others urgently require the money for medical and other emergencies.
What is particularly shocking is that the government deducted 10 per cent of the teachers’ basic salary for the two benefit funds and was supposed to contribute an equivalent amount. As such, the authorities should have had no problem in disbursing retirement benefits in a timely manner. The crisis has been compounded by the alleged misappropriation of about Tk 7,000 crore from the retirement funds during the Awami League regime. Reports of bribery, whereby some applicants allegedly secured early payments, also expose deep-rooted governance failures. The government’s plan to arrange a Tk 2,000 crore bond, as the education minister said on June 24, is a positive initiative, but it is inadequate to make a marked difference as the bond will generate only Tk 150–160 crore every six months, far below the requirement. The Retirement Benefits Board alone requires about Tk 6,000–6,500 crore to clear pending applications while the Welfare Trust also needs substantial allocations. Given that the proposed national budget stands at Tk 9.38 lakh crore, allocating the required Tk 6,000–8,000 crore to settle the arrears should not pose an insurmountable challenge.
The government must recognise that retirement benefits are not acts of charity. They are deferred earnings accumulated through monthly contributions made by teachers and employees throughout their service. Ensuring timely disbursement is, therefore, both a legal and moral obligation. The government should, therefore, take immediate and decisive measures to end this long-standing injustice.
